Change of mind

 Just a brief note here tonight. This skirt and vest were  made from two simple rectangles. I have to work in a small area, and have to work simple. When I started making this fabric, a warm winter coat was planned, but, oh, it's great to be a girl and change ones mind.

That's it for now.
Felt happy!
Shalom,
Suzanne

Unbelievable Sorrows and Blessings

 I will be teaching in a few weeks as posted below. There is still room in the workshop if you are interested and you'll need to contact Brianna for placement.

Since last I wrote an actual entry, soooooo much has happened, an unbelievable amount of sorrow and sadness. When I wrote my last entry of any consequence, Joyce had died and I was taking care of Doc. I had promised Joyce that I would take care of him, and I did. Doc died 5 weeks after Joyce died. Cause of death was heart attack, but the truth is it was a broken heart. They were married forever and he simply could not manage life without her. Every night when I helped him get ready for bed, he'd say, "Well, maybe tonight is the night I die." I miss them both so much. I was then hired by their estate to help close it all down and get everything ready for auction and putting the property up for sale. That is finally coming to a close.

While all of this was going on for 5 months with Joyce and Doc, our Granddaughter Mollie's fiance' was killed in a drunk driving accident, my father in-law, who is living with us suffered a series of medical problems that took him to the hospital, then nursing home for 6 weeks and now back home with us. Our last wee chihuahua started to bleed out and we had to put her down. One of my husbands dear friend died, my mother announces to me that she is having TIA's and my father fell and broke his hip, developed pneumonia, a UTI with MRSA and died.

It feels as though I have gone from one sorrow to the next, with no break. My cousin asked me at the  funeral for my Dad if I was tired of being strong all of the time. I responded that I was afraid that I don't know how to be weak. There are days that I want to just stay in bed, but I am blessed with the love of a good man who allows me extra sleep, but not to the point of hibernating and hiding from life.

I did get to teach to the Midwest Felting Symposium, The Michigan Fiber Festival, Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, some private classes. Felt has been the "Sweet Release" from reality for me. I've not made much, but I think that is okay for right now. My suspicious is that all of this is going to settle into my soul, become a part of who I am, and then come out as a new expression in felt for me...or maybe not. It's just float time right now...and that's okay.

Mom did get to spend about a week with us and together we made a nuno wrap for her. She loves it, and I love her. What great memories.

Please do not think that I want your sympathy with the writing of all of this. Life happen, and sometimes it happens in rapid succession. Do not be sad for me. This is more of an explanation of where I've been and the roads I've traveled lately. I am fine. The blessings with all of the these trails have been equally unbelievable. There is balance...I just have to wait for the pendulum to stop swinging.

Felt happy...and I've missed you all too.
Suzanne

Upcoming Class Announcment

Fabulous, Funky, Fun Felt Hat

or a Wild and Wooly

Wonderful Bird Pod

Class at Bridosha Farm!

Class will be held Saturday, November 3rd begining at 9:30 am

Full day class where you can learn how to make a beautiful felt hat or a lovely bird pod and leave with your creation!

In this workshop we will explore the wonderful experience of creating a one of a kind seamless felt hat or bird pod of your design. There are so many options for multiple pockets, surface design elements, like silk fabrics, locks, prefelts, neps, and other fun stuffs. While no experience is necessary it is helpful if you have made felt before the class. Please don't let any inexperience prevent you from taking this opportunity to learn to make wonderful felt.

Wool fibers, silks, hand dyed locks, wool neps, pattern and resist materials, plastics, trays, raw locks will be provided


You will need to bring:

sharp scisssors
2-3 old towels
Black magic marker
Bed risers if you have them (wal-mart, for about 10.00)
Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Bring snacks and drinks of your choice; lunch will be provided.
A ballbrouser if you have one, can be purchased from Susan's fiber Shop 1-888-603-4237 for about 25.00. Nice to have, but is not required.
One gallon bucket with large sponge
Kiss My Face bar of soap, any scent will work just fine
A sense of fun and wonder!


Class is hosted by Bridosha Farm in Westphalia, Michigan




Class will be taught by Suzanne Higgs of Hooked on Felt




Limit: 12 students

This is a full day class beginning at 9:30 am

Fee is $100.00; $25 deposit will hold your spot!

Please contact Brianna Schneider of Bridosha Farm at 517.256.1806

Space is limited, this will be first come first serve

Really, blogger? Really?

 Seriously, I just finished a very long post here and somehow I've completely lost the whole thing. Too tired to start all over.
Felt Happy (until I lost the whole blog post!)
Shalom,
Suzanne

Joyce and Gillian and me

About 7 weeks ago I got a phone call from dear friends, Tom and Joyce, asking me to stop by as soon as I could. I went immediately and learned that Joyce had stage 4, fully metastasized lung cancer that had spread to her brain, bone, bowel and liver.  They wanted me to be her nurse for the duration. I did and that is why the entries here have been few and far between.  Joyce's struggle ended April 13.  Helping Tom cope with this incredible loss is time consuming, heartbreaking, fatiguing and rewarding. I will miss Joyce very much for a very long time.

In the past week I was able to  put all of the finishing touches on the (purple) Gillian Hunt Hat, which is being shipped to Scotland today. This was an artist exchange between me and Gillian. The prints she sent me as so wonderfully beautiful. I've got to get them framed and hung. They are splendid and I think I may have gotten the better end of the deal. Gillian's work is outstanding!

I also made the White on White on White on White Hat...white 15.5 micron merino with white bombyx silk roving, white silk neps, white wool neps and white 5mm habotai silk. This 15.5 micron wool from Ashland Bay is also most like working in wet paper the minute it gets wet. It begs to felt. The habotai silk nearly disappeared into the wool. Now I am anxious to make a wrap using the fine micron merino.

There is much to do in the days ahead. I've been asked to write about felting for the Michigan Fiber Festival's e-magazine and I've got to work on that, classes are just around the corner at the Kalamazoo Nature Center and I need to prepare for them. Orders to ship, thoughts that need to be put down on paper and drawn out, dyeing silk fabrics, batts to get made for spinners, laundry, cleaning, life stuffs, all needs to be done.  Much of my life has been on hold these past few weeks with Joyce...now on to getting back on track.

Felt Happy!
Shalom,
Suzanne

Polka Dots and Silks

There is so much SPRING all over the place here in southwest Michigan. Our blooming tress are in full or past full bloom, tulips are up and flowering, bees and birds all over the place. It is delightful and disturbing...snow is in the forecast for next week. YIKES! Frost and freeze could be very damaging to our fruit trees statewide.

Dad is happy in his "Man Cave" and is in good humor and doing quite well. I cannot even begin to say how happy I am that he is living with us. Perhaps it is because I am from a large family, it just feels right, even the extra laundry, food, appointments, dishes, etc....it just all works for me. Thankfully, it works for him too.

On a daily basis, I am caring for a dear friend who has terminal cancer, and my beloved husband Jim is taking over the task of cooking for her and her husband. They have no children and we have, for the time being, become their children. I had thought about going back to nursing full time...I didn't know it would come to me. They asked me to be her nurse and I am honored and humbled...and very sad for my friend.

About the hat above:
I was rummaging through some of my stuffs when I came across some of the old yarn samples I'd had from when I had the shop....hmmmmmmm....could those yarn samples be polka dots? or rosettes? or some kind of interesting surface design? Well, the answer is always "YES" ( ...which loosely translates into "try it...yes it worked, or yes, you have to try another idea") So, with that I took the wee samples from several different companies and made up the little colorful polka dots and used them on the surface of the hat. I like the effect of additional texture and the colorful pops on the black hat. The pieces on the brim are also bits and pieces of left over silks, sari silks, and cheese cloth. My mind is gathering ideas for small snippets of yarn for further applications.

The other thing that I wanted to mention is THE MIDWEST FELTING SYMPOSIUM in Madison, Wisconsin . I will be teaching there for two days and am hoping to take some classes as well.

• Patricia Spark Albany, Oregon
• Pamela MacGregor McClure, Ohio
• Marlene Gruetter Scottown, Ohio
• Suzanne Higgs Plainwell, Michigan
• Anna Gunnarsdóttir Akureyri, Iceland
• Regina Doseth Klaipeda, Lithuania
• Margo Duke Mount Airy, Maryland
• Pam de Groot Blue Mountains, Australia

Some classes have already filled, but the talent that will be there is outstanding. I wish I had the time and $ to take each class. If you've not been to this event and wonder if it is worth it, I can tell you with great certainty, it is wonderful. It is filling fast so don't wait to register. I think there is a discount for registration prior to May 1st.

Blessed Easter and Happy Passover.

Shalom and Felt Happy!

Suzanne

How is your Russian?

http://www.livemaster.ru/masterclasses/valyanie/mokroe-valyanie

Is probably one of the most AMAZING sites I've found, via another felt maker, on the world wide web. Inspiring, great photos, SPLENDID IDEAS, and great at the "show and tell" of felt making. Just thought you'd like to know...I hope to try them all!
Shalom and Felt Happy!
Suzanne

Two Views for Gillian Hunt

This is the hat for Gillian. Have a few finishing touches to put on it, then off to Scotland it goes. I love trades with artists work I truly admire. I pray that she likes her hat as well as I do her photography. I hope it is worthy.

Felt Happy and Shalom,
Suzanne

Scoring BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I 'met" Gillian Hunt of FB and fell in love with her incredible photography...the two nature photos. Gillian has agreed to trade these to photos for one of my hats...made especially for her. I am beyond DELIGHTED! I've wanted some of her art for some time, now that will happen. Happy dance all over the place!!!!! Her incredible photos will go in my green guest room. I may start a Gillian Hunt wall! I think these photos will look wonderful in the green guestroom.



The hat that Gillian wants is like the turquoise tam with the hand dyed silk, only done in purples and pinks. I am looking forward to making the hat for her...and trying to make it as special as I think her photos are. I'll try to rememeber to post it here when get it done.



This great moment in the sky happened as I was leaving my friends home a few weeks ago. the whole sky was a series of different clouds, light and shadow play...hard to take your eyes off it. I shot the cloud here from my cell phone. Wish I had had a really good camera on me. I love this photo of the clouds...so reminded me of being 8 years old and watching the clouds in new mowed grass. It was a great moment to capture and I was very happy to have my cell on me with enough charge to allow the camera to work.

This is one of the hats that I was able to complete this week. First photo is of it before felting, the second is finished. I may have to cut the resist down a bit. I used a synthetic organza on the surface. Love the texture it created!

Off to bed. Are you making felt? What are you making?

Shalom and make Happy Felt!

Suzanne

Re-Worked hat

Too busy to write, but will soon. These are re-worked hats and I thought I'd share them quickly.
Hope you are having fun felting!
Shalom,
Suzanne

Hats...

Not much time to write. Very good friend has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and they asked me to be their nurse through the crisis. I'll probably be away for a good bit. I did get these three hats made. Yeah! I need to make felt to feel connected to the felt community. I have to go love my friend through her final phase of this life and help her die with dignity and grace, of which she has much. Hard days ahead of me and I am asking God for the strength and grace and wisdom to get me through.

Spring is coming way too fast here. Crocus are up and looking mighty perking! Robins all over the place. Isn't Spring just too wonderful! The only down side for me is that I'll have to put my much loved sweaters away....and I'll miss them!

Thanks for all of the new followers adding this blog to your list. Much appreciate that.
Shalom and make happy felt!
Suzanne

Who Is In Your Playpen?

Jim and I are well settled into our new routine with Dad, and it is going splendidly. I am accustom to "care-giving' so it does not fatigue me in the same way it does my husband Jim. He is rising to the occasion though, and I am so proud of him ... So much so that I felt I could leave them for a few days and travel to see Pam MacGregor at http://tarveycottagestudio.com/
It was just what I needed. Over the past weeks/months, I felt as though I'd really lost my sense of "play" and knew that I needed a safe place to have that rekindled...no pressure, no expectations, just play...and we did.

I took a couple of things with me that I needed advisement on, and one of the things is the bag shown on this page. The bag project morphed on me during the felting process and went from vessel to bag, then back to vessel and finally to bag again. I was so confused and frustrated at the end of it I just wanted to toss it. But tossing it was not an option. To start with the wool had mohair in it and I do not like hairy felt...at all, so the more I fulled the felt, the hairier it became, even after shaving it. Grrrrrrrrr! Second, I had used some of the organically dyed over-spun silk I'd received from Vilte . So now I have to see this through. So I took it to Pam for help. We got it done and soon it will get the finishing touches. It has already sold, so all was not lost. What Pam and I did is what I would have done here at home, but I'd lost my "risk taking tools", my "play". After the time with Pam, it has all come back. Thank you Pam.

I'm currently embarking on re-working some of my old pattern as well as gathering new ones in my hat making efforts. It is sometimes so much easier to do the 'tried and true" than to push oneself to rethink, retool, dissemble, reassemble, try this, try that...and end up with a failure that that taught me much along the way. It is the felt road I travel. I am planning on being surprised along the way.

I love the black and blue hat, ('tried and true") and the "Tin Man" was an adaptation of a pattern that I like a good bit to. The eggplant purple hat is a pattern I received from Pam. Buttons need to be added and I am already thinking of the changes I'll make to it next time.

Robins are here, so are the Blue birds. It's way too early for Spring in Michigan, but it looks like it is coming anyway. Time waits for no one.. so I'd better get busy. Show Season will be here before i know it.

Shalom,
Suzanne

Bird Pod Class Announcement

Felted Bird Pod Workshop

When:
Sat, May 12, 10am – 4pm

Where:
Kalamazoo Nature Center (map)

Description:
Come enjoy felt fun for feathered friends! Build a felted wool structure that blends beautifully into the landscape and houses song birds and their young. These pods are made from wool, llama and alpaca fibers and will last for many years! All materials are included in workshop fee. Please dress comfortably and bring a snack! Fee: $55/members, $65/non-members Registration and payment required by Monday, May 7: (269) 381-1574 ext. 0 Indoor workshop for ages 12+; no felting experience required!

Calm, Change, Chaos....and life goes on

We are three weeks into Dad's living with us and it has been enlightening, to say the least. He has masked just how much he needs to be with someone who can supply the nursing/physical care he needs and how profound his loneliness has been. We've had a trip to the hospital, Dr. visits, managing the care of his wife who is in an assisted living facility, bills to pay, medication runs, assembling of a bedside commode and a bunch of other stuff I'd rather not talk about here. Let's just say that I am happy to have him here where I know the care he is getting is very good.

I was able to sneak away briefly to work out some of the things that Emy and I are working on together. The bag has the leather trim that I wanted on it and the skirt is completed. The top for the skirt is still "in the works" but will be coming soon. It seems that everything has to be done the way one eats an elephant....one bite at a time.
After weeks of moving, carrying, cleaning, arranging, re-arranging, moving, throwing out, selling, transporting, boxing and un-boxing two households, I had a down day. During my 'down", the phone rings to tell me that two students had cancelled due to illness, and would I still teach? I said of course I'd still teach if there were only two....and by the way, when is the class. I don't have it on my calendar? TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What! End of down time and started packing the car. I had so much fun with these gals. They dyed their scarves, laid out their wool, rolled them and then after the fibers had started to migrate, we headed off to the local laundry mat, where they saw their project transform into highly textured nuno works. They were a delight and I needed to be around folks making felt more than I knew. It was a very good day.

Personally, I've no idea when I'll be back making felt. I'll be teaching a good bit and am always open to workshops within the mid-west. I'll be teaching at the Nature Center in Kalamazoo, Midwest Felting Symposium, Michigan Fiber Festival, Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, and Colorado, Ohio and a few other places this year. A lot depends upon the road we are traveling now. My family comes first.

I will make felt again...I will make felt again....I will make felt again.

Shalom and Happy Feltmaking~

Suzanne

Cha-cha-cha-cha-changes

Life happens FAST! and with it comes changes that we sometimes see coming and others, not so much. My much respected husband Jim and I have aging parents, my Mom and Dad are still alive, traveling between FLA and MI as the weather changes, 6 months here in Michigan, 6 months there in Fla. and his Dad (Bob) is alive living a few miles from us. This week, he, Dad (Bob) informed us that he's decided to take us up on our offer to have him come live with us. He is nearly 90, alone, lonely, funny, capable, delightful, wise, loving, fussy, neat as a pin, and a bunch more stuff, and soon he will be under our roof. We are delighted, and anxious and disrupted and honored. It is a life changing event...and change can be good!
For the past 4 months, I've been working off and on at the task of de-cluttering our home. We have four grown children who use our home as a storage unit, plus both my husband and I run our businesses (yes two businesses from one home) from our home. Do you need more detail? Probably not. So the goal is " a more organized chaos". Our living room will become Dad's apartment for all practical purposes and we are scurrying around trying to move things, get rid of things, reallocate things, all in an effort to give him is own space and allow us ours as well. I need to be three people right now...and one of us seriously could use a nap!
Prior to the phone call from Dad, I was able to make a new hat and a couple of flowers. It may be a bit of time before I can get back to the felting.

That's all for now, got to get back to rearranging my home and then pack up his large, two-bedroom, filled to the brim apartment. He moves in within weeks. Please wish me luck!

Shalom and Happy Felting!
Suzanne

Some stuffs

For the past 10 years I've been collecting silks...and have decided to start putting it into use this week. Hat, bag, purse...nuff said.
Peace and love to you,
Suzanne